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"The face of the operation is Briatore (referred to exclusively in the film by his colleagues and angry, chanting detractors as "Flavio"), an anthropomorphic radish who spends most of his time at QPR plotting to fire all of the managers."

At press time, Harbaugh had sent Michigan’s athletic department an envelope containing a heavily annotated seating chart, a list of the 63,000 seat views he had found unsatisfactory, and a glowing 70-page report on section 25, row 12, seat 9, which he claimed is “exactly what the great sport of football is all about.”

Yesterday evening local Cleveland radio reported that Kelly to the Browns was a virtual certainty and while he's going to talk to both the Eagles and the Bills today, by tonight there will be an announcement of his hire. Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland said he would be very surprised if this doesnt happen today and that the team is "backing up the brinks truck" to make this happen.

But even if Chip doesn't end up here it seems a virtual certainty he'd coming to the NFL next year and he's going to run "his" offense in the pro's. Lots and lots of discussion around here concerning his system and if it can work given the roster size he'll have to work with and the potential for QB injury. And in Cleveland the roster will need to revamped (Brandon Weedon is NOT a spread QB) to function properly but it sure looks like the Brownies are about to take the plunge.

Personally I think it will work - at least at first - simply because it will be so radically different than anything the other teams practice for each week. The Patriots have incorporated elements of his tempo and the Redskins and Panthers run variations of the spread but no team yet has gone "all in" on the uptempo spread offense. Until now. Spread QBs can be had pretty cheap (I'm thinking Alex Smith running the show) and other spread-type players (linemen/slot receivers) are also not terribly valued in the NFL so putting together the roster on offense shouldn't require a lot of cap space. Leaving lots of room for spending on the defense where it will be surely needed.

Will it work? I think so and for the first time in the last 10 years or so I'm actually excited about Cleveland Browns football. My only question is if he comes will we have to start wearing alternate jersey's and helmets every week?

EDIT: Cleveland Plain Dealer Browns beat report Mary Kay Cabot is now reporting that the Browns and Kelly are meeting again tonight and has been told by sources inside the Browns organization to expect an announcement tonight. For those of you unfamiliar with Grossi or Cabot they are NOTHING like the Detroit sports media and if they report something like this you can generally count on it actually happening.

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They had some Oregon beat reporter on WKNR the other day and someone (Rizzo?) asked if Kelly runs his practices like NFL practices. The guy said he has covered NFL teams in the past and that Kellys practices are better than the NFL practices he has seen.

Excited if the Brownies get him.

For the strength of the pack is the Wolv, and the strength of the Wolv is the pack.

Remember when they were so sure they were going to get Izzo? And remember somehow that was going to convince LeBron to stay in Cleveland? Yeah, I'll believe anything out of Cleveland sports media when I see it.

You must be listening to other Cleveland media than I do. What I hear is the unrelenting pessimism that years of unrelenting losing has created. I don't remember anybody here saying we were going to get Izzo (I think that was more from the Detroit media) and that he would somehow save Lebron (we were hoping beyond hope he'd stay)

Browns last championship: 1964

Indians last championship: 1948

Cavs last championship: never

Trust me.... You've got to look long and hard to find an optimist around these parts.

I grew up on Cleveland sports across the Lake and listening to WKNR (excepting the Ohio honks) for my Tribe and Browns coverage. Supporting Cleveland teams is not the work of optimists and any idiot that would provide that sort of coverage would get destroyed in Cleveland. This is the town of 'the drive', 'the shot', Red Right '88, 'the decision', Jose freaking Mesa etc. etc. Instead, of optimism I find the Cleveland media's coverage more akin to waiting for the other shoe to drop (since it inevitably always does).

If the haters don't hate you then you're doing something wrong. - David Cone

And unlike Blount, Richardson actually catches the ball, which makes him even more dangerousl. Kelly's a smarty guy, I think he could definitely tweak his offense to fit the pieces they already have and find a way to make it work. Can't be any worse than any recent Browns offense I've watched.

I don't think Kelly's system will work in the NFL. Everyone is quick. However, I am assuming he is going to put wrinkles in his offense to adapt. Furthermore, the Browns are a much worse fit for him than the Eagles would be if he is going to run a similar offense like he did at Oregon. The Eagles have a much more explosive team that the Browns do. Take the Eagles job, Chip.

The eagles position makes a little more sense, I think Kelly is not going to be able to bring his exact system from Oregon to the nfl, some sort of spread will work in the nfl, it is already there, in a variety of forms. Ultimately, he'll probably do what a lot of college coaches have done, struggle, especially in Cleveland.

Why would anyone want to coach the Eagles. I get it, there are only 32 spots, so they're all fairly highly coveted.

Philadelphia is a top 5 market in the US, but the owner is notoriously cheap. I know he makes a splash once in a while with a high profile free agent, but for the most part he doesn't spend. Before the 2012 season began, the Eagles had more cap space than 26 other NFL franchises.

According to Forbes' 2012 valuations, they're also the 7th most valuable NFL franchise.

Please God no. I am tired of an offensive minded coach and like much of Philly want a good defense and non gimmick offensive system. We have seen what Vick can do and being 33 next season, there is no future there. Lots of questions remain with Foles, but at least there is upside...pretty much no upside with Vick as he will only get slower and has proved his decision making skills are lacking, to say the least.

He must be really afraid of those sanctions, because he sounds like he wants out. Agreeing to interview with three different franchises (at the height of the recruiting season, no less) suggests that he must not be happy in Eugene.

The problem is, if the accusations turn out to be true then oregon would have to fire him. Because it means he knowingly deceived both the university and the NCAA. I'm sure he could still get another job after that. But his stock would plummet. He leaves now, and no one will bat an eye when the violations come down. As long as he is winning with his new team. See Pete Carrol.

i know some media have reported that but being in Philly, i think that's off base with what Lurie is looking for. He wants a guy who will bring in great coordinators and with no NFL experience I dont think Kelly is going to get those established coordinators.

Correction: Brandon Weeden IS a spread QB. That's how he made his money at Oklahoma State. He's not a read option QB.

As a Browns fan, I like the move because I think he will create a system that utilizes his talent to the utmost, unlike previous coaches that have forced a system on the current personnel, results be damned. I don't think our current personnel fits the Oregon system very well, but getting a guard like Warmack in the draft and a speed back would go a long way in easing the transition.

Weeden is a pick machine (even at OSU he made bad decisions he got away with). McCoy has good mobility and could do some zone-read if needed. Spread the field, give him options, and then have Richardson plow through a spread out D.

Using the term Wildcat to describe a direct snap to anyone other than a QB is like calling any rock band from the early 90s Grunge.

Very doubtful that Vick is back and why take a risk with a 33 year old guy who you have seen the best from? Eagles owe him $3M in bonus money and no one thinks he'll survive a cut. Plus, his future was tied to Reid and although he had a great 2010 season, DCs have figured him out and he has pretty much been mediocre.

From a longtime Birds fan, I would say that Kelly would be a good fit. The Eagles have skill position players (incl Vick) as well as a good offensive line when healthy. I think QB passing is not as critical in his scheme, which would make Vick-ish QB's more likely than NIck Foles (who seems to be a Joe Flacco with less accuracy, ie not good)

Per a couple of comments above

1) Lurie is not "cheap" per se. They were mostly smart in terms of cap management and usually came close to spending their max each year (while taking minimum hits). That is just good business imo. The GM (Howie Roseman) did eff up when he docked Mike Patterson some pay due to his AVM in his brain making him unable to play even when he went AMA to get on the field. For $150k that is pretty douchy, and maybe had Lurie's approval

2) The back story with Banner (Cleveland GM) is pretty interesting, as Lurie essentially threw him under the bus for some recent bad draft decisions, exonerating Roseman and Reid to some extent. I have a strong suspicion that Banner would really like to take it to the Eagles for that comment and a number of other reasons.

With all this being said, I think that the Browns are going to pay Kelly a premium for PR as much as anything. While I would prefer to take a chance on Kelly, I think it will be Mike McCoy vs other (someone unknown) to the Eagles and Kelly to Cleveland.

The guys who ended up playing on the Oline by the end of the season were horrible. We had 0 of 5 starters finish the season and have a pro bowl left tackle coming back next year. So as they finished the season, yes they were terrible but what else would you expect from a line of 2nd stringers??

Yikes! Poor choice by you on the Vick pick :) I had McCoy too even though I knew Andy Reid's irrational tendency to not run even though he has one of the best RBs in the NFL. I agree with you about Vick being gone and wasn't really commenting on that. The Oline was down one starter (Peters) when the season opened, had a tire fire of a replacement "strategy", lost the starting center in week 2 and it just went down from there. BTW, I was wrong, we had 1 OL starter finish the year but still, you get my point. Hoepfully they will be much better by next year simply by getting back injured starters. Either way, still don't want Kelly!

That's right. Kelly's system at Oregon is known for its dominant O lines. Plus, nobody in their right mind would take Michael Vick at 33 over the sprightly 29 year old Weeden. Honestly, who looks at Vick and thinks "spread QB" ?

Lions are actually in a much better situation. They have a very good young QB in Stafford and an absolute superstar WR in Calvin Johnson. The problem has been the secondary (in todays NFL its hard to win if you can't stop the pass) and team discipline.

I think the read option works everywhere. Bob Griffin is killing fools with it. His reads may need to be modified a bit (which it will be), but I don't see much of a problem.

Also, as I saw Smart Football tweet yesterday, Kelly's run game is based off the inside zone, outside zone and power--the same concepts Saban and Trent Richardson ran at Alabama. Kelly's offense is really just old school football in a modern look that takes advantage of numbers.

You're talking about the NFL with free agents and trades. This is not college football where you have to hope a recruit signs with your team. The Browns or any team could pick up a spread QB like Tebow, Alex smith, Pat white or any other QB who ran the spread in college easily.

I thought the same thing. If he built a pro offense like the one he runs at Oregon he'd build an exact replica of the Philadelphia Eagles. They were tired of Andy Reid, wanted some exciting fresh blood at the helm, and Chip Kelly is interviewing in Cleveland instead.

Something I found interesting in the article was the fact that Kelly has succeeded at Oregon without "his own" staff- most of the staff is made up of Belotti's guys. Now it helps that Chip was a coordinator and knew them already, but still- usually these super successful coaches bring in all their own people.

It just makes me think that Kelly is good at adapting to the situation, which I hope is the case. I don't think anyone expects the Browns to run the exact same scheme as Oregon, but if he adapts his offense to the pro game and his personnel, there could be good things in store for Cleveland.

1. Regarding the QB issue, I wonder if McCoy would be given another shot at the starting job. I've been hearing internet chatter (prepare you large grain of salt) that the Browns wanted McCoy out of the organization to take pressure off of Weeden (i.e., McCoy was well liked by fans who might start calling his name if Weeden struggled). I wonder if Kelly would prefer a QB like McCoy over Weeden. Personally, I thought McCoy never got much of a fair shake, with no receiver help and no OLine protection.

2. Let the thread synergy begin! What about Denard under Kelly? Not as QB, obviously, but he's a versatile, super-fast, somewhat undersized player. I wonder if a Kelly-led Browns would look toward Denard in the draft. Now that Al Davis is gone, someone has to step up to draft via 40 times.

"...I wouldn't be so sure those women were innocent. The children are obviously innocent - if they are less than five."